{"id":271,"date":"2008-08-26T11:41:58","date_gmt":"2008-08-26T19:41:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mozillalabs.com\/?p=271"},"modified":"2012-03-30T23:04:45","modified_gmt":"2012-03-30T23:04:45","slug":"introducing-ubiquity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/2008\/08\/introducing-ubiquity\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Ubiquity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>An experiment into connecting the Web with language.<\/em><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float:right\" src=\"http:\/\/azarask.in\/gfx\/ubiquity_side.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>It Doesn&#8217;t Have to be This Way<\/h2>\n<p>You&#8217;re writing an email to invite a friend to meet at a local San Francisco restaurant that neither of you has been to.\u00a0 You&#8217;d like to include a map. Today, this involves the disjointed tasks of message composition on a web-mail service, mapping the address on a map site, searching for reviews on the restaurant on a search engine, and finally copying all links into the message being composed.\u00a0 This familiar sequence is an awful lot of clicking, typing, searching, copying, and pasting in order to do a very simple task.\u00a0 And you haven&#8217;t even really sent a map or useful reviews\u2014only links to them.<\/p>\n<p>This kind of clunky, time-consuming interaction is common on the Web. <a id=\"p610\" title=\"Mashups\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mashup_%28web_application_hybrid%29\">Mashups<\/a> help in some cases but they are static, require Web development skills, and are largely <em>site-centric<\/em> rather than <em>user-centric<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s even worse on mobile devices, where limited capability and fidelity makes this onerous or nearly impossible.<\/p>\n<p>Most people do not have an easy way to manage the vast resources of the Web to simplify their task at hand. For the most part they are left trundling between web sites, performing common tasks resulting in frustration and wasted time.<\/p>\n<h2>Enter Ubiquity<\/h2>\n<p>Today we&#8217;re announcing the launch of Ubiquity, a <a id=\"g2uy\" title=\"Mozilla Labs\" href=\"http:\/\/labs.mozilla.com\">Mozilla Labs<\/a> experiment into connecting the Web with language in an attempt to find new user interfaces that could make it possible for everyone to do common Web tasks more quickly and easily.<\/p>\n<p>The overall goals of Ubiquity are to explore how best to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Empower<\/strong> users to control the web browser with language-based instructions. (With search, users type what they want to find. With Ubiquity, they type what they want to do.)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enable <\/strong>on-demand, user-generated mashups with existing open Web APIs. (In other words, allowing everyone&#8211;not just Web developers&#8211;to remix the Web so it fits their needs, no matter what page they are on, or what they are doing.)<\/li>\n<li>Use <strong>Trust<\/strong> networks and social constructs to balance security with ease of extensibility. <\/li>\n<li><strong>Extend <\/strong>the browser functionality easily.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><object width=\"540\" height=\"403\"><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.vimeo.com\/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1561578&amp;server=www.vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=cc6600&amp;fullscreen=1\" \/><embed type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"540\" height=\"403\" src=\"http:\/\/www.vimeo.com\/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1561578&amp;server=www.vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=cc6600&amp;fullscreen=1\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"s:0o\" title=\"Learn more\" href=\"http:\/\/www.azarask.in\/blog\/post\/ubiquity-in-depth\/\">Learn more<\/a> about Ubiquity and the capabilities that it could provide for users and developers.<\/p>\n<h2>The Initial Prototype<\/h2>\n<p>As part of this announcement, we&#8217;re also releasing an early experimental prototype to demonstrate some of the concepts of Ubiquity and the possibilities that it opens up. This release is meant as a illustration of a concept and mainly focuses on the platform. The next release will explore interfaces that are closer to features that might make it into Firefox.<\/p>\n<p> <a id=\"qe8a\" title=\"Install the prototype\" href=\"https:\/\/ubiquity.mozilla.com\/xpi\/ubiquity-latest.xpi\">Install the prototype<\/a> and you&#8217;ll be presented with a <a href=\"https:\/\/wiki.mozilla.org\/Labs\/Ubiquity\/Ubiquity_0.1_User_Tutorial\">tutorial<\/a> to get you started.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ubiquity 0.1<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lets you map and insert maps anywhere; translate on-page; search amazon, google, wikipedia, yahoo, youtube, etc.; digg and twitter; lookup and insert yelp review; get the weather; syntax highlight any code you find; and a lot more. Ubiquity &#8220;command list&#8221; to see them all.<\/li>\n<li>Find and install new commands to extend your browser&#8217;s vocabulary through a simple subscription mechanism<\/li>\n<li>Read about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.azarask.in\/blog\/post\/ubiquity-in-depth\/\">Ubiquity In Depth<\/a>, or see a number of the commands in action (with screenshots) in the <a href=\"https:\/\/wiki.mozilla.org\/Labs\/Ubiquity\/Ubiquity_0.1_User_Tutorial\">Ubiquity Tutorial<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of the code underlying the Ubiquity experiment is being released as open source software under the the <a id=\"fq1m\" title=\"GPL\/MPL\/LGPL tri-license\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mozilla.org\/MPL\/\">GPL\/MPL\/LGPL tri-license<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This is the goal of what kinds of language-based services Ubiquity hopes to inspire people to create:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/azarask.in\/gfx\/future_ubiquity.png\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/azarask.in\/gfx\/future_ubiquity_thumb.png\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is a screenshot of Ubiquity&#8217;s current map functionality:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/people.mozilla.com\/%7Emyk\/ubiquity\/map-email-1-big.png\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/azarask.in\/gfx\/map_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Influences, References, and Background Resources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"xta410\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/faaborg\/2007\/07\/05\/the-graphical-keyboard-user-interface\/\">The Graphical Keyboard User Interface<\/a> by Alex Faaborg<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/jonoscript.wordpress.com\/2008\/07\/26\/why-verbs\/\">Why Verbs<\/a> by Jono DiCarlo<\/li>\n<li>The <a id=\"qvr_\" title=\"Linguistic Command Line\" href=\"http:\/\/mags.acm.org\/interactions\/20080102\/?pg=20&amp;pm=2\">Linguistic Command Line<\/a> by Aza Raskin<\/li>\n<li>The <a id=\"x9e_\" title=\"UI Breakthrough-Command Line Interfaces\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jnd.org\/dn.mss\/ui_breakthroughcomma.html\">UI Breakthrough-Command Line Interfaces<\/a> by Don Norman<\/li>\n<li><a id=\"xta48\" href=\"http:\/\/www.humanized.com\/enso\/\">Enso<\/a> by <a id=\"nu-9\" title=\"Humanized\" href=\"http:\/\/humanized.com\/enso\/\">Humanized<\/a> <\/li>\n<li><a id=\"dcd7\" title=\"Trust-based security\" href=\"http:\/\/www.toolness.com\/wp\/?p=64\">Trust-based security<\/a>, and <a id=\"y90h\" title=\"Herd-based knowledge\" href=\"http:\/\/www.toolness.com\/wp\/?p=144\">Herd-based knowledge<\/a> by Atul Varma<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For a full list, see the <a id=\"du9.\" title=\"credits page\" href=\"https:\/\/wiki.mozilla.org\/Labs\/Ubiquity\/Credits#Sources:_Background_and_Inspiration\">credits page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Get Involved<\/h2>\n<p>Mozilla Labs is <em>a virtual lab where people come together online to create, experiment and play with Web innovations for the public benefit.<\/em> The Ubiquity experiment is still in its infancy and just getting started. There are many ways to join the team and get involved:<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ubiquity.mozilla.com\/xpi\/ubiquity-latest.xpi\">Download Ubiquity 0.1<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"ja8d\" title=\"command repository\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.toolness.com\/ubiquity-herd\/\">Find Ubiquity Commands<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"zvfx\" title=\"&quot;customer service&quot; hub\" href=\"http:\/\/getsatisfaction.com\/mozilla\/products\/mozilla_ubiquity\">Get Help, Make Suggestions, or Write Documentation to Help Others<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"m8dm\" title=\"Write Commands for Ubiquity\" href=\"https:\/\/wiki.mozilla.org\/Labs\/Ubiquity\/Ubiquity_0.1_Author_Tutorial\">Write Commands for Ubiquity<\/a> <\/li>\n<li><a id=\"wq33\" title=\"Report a Bug\" href=\"http:\/\/labs.toolness.com\/trac\/report\">Report a Bug<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"l4ns\" title=\"Discuss\" href=\"http:\/\/groups.google.com\/group\/ubiquity-firefox\">Discuss Ubiquity<br \/> <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"ykm4\" title=\"View Source\" href=\"http:\/\/hg.toolness.com\/ubiquity-firefox\/\">View Source<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We&#8217;ve also started compiling a <a id=\"fad515\" title=\"Labs\/Ubiquity\/Ubiquity Command Suggestions\" href=\"https:\/\/wiki.mozilla.org\/Labs\/Ubiquity\/Ubiquity_Command_Suggestions\">suggestion list<\/a> for possible Ubiquity commands. If you have any suggestions, add them here or get inspired and <a id=\"c3ru\" title=\"develop\" href=\"https:\/\/wiki.mozilla.org\/Labs\/Ubiquity\/Ubiquity_0.1_Author_Tutorial\">develop<\/a> one of them and add them to the <a id=\"tl6i\" title=\"command repository\" href=\"https:\/\/labs.toolness.com\/ubiquity-herd\/\">command repository<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An experiment into connecting the Web with language. It Doesn&#8217;t Have to be This Way You&#8217;re writing an email to invite a friend to meet at a local San Francisco restaurant that neither of you has been to.\u00a0 You&#8217;d like &hellip; <a class=\"go\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/2008\/08\/introducing-ubiquity\/\">Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[4863,529],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/labs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}